Processing Analysis of the Ternary LiNH2-MgH2-LiBH4 System for Hydrogen Storage

The ternary LiNH2-MgH2-LiBH4 hydrogen storage system has been extensively studied by adopting various processing reaction pathways. The stoichiometric ratio of LiNH2:MgH2:LiBH4 is kept constant with a 2:1:1 molar ratio. All samples are prepared using solid-state mechano-chemical synthesis with a constant rotational speed, but with varying milling duration. All samples are intimate mixtures of Li-B-N-H and MgH2, with varying particle sizes. It is found that the samples with MgH2 particle sizes of approximately 10nm exhibit lower initial hydrogen release at a temperature of 150°C. The as-synthesized hydrides exhibit two main hydrogen release temperatures, one around 160°C and the other around 300°C. The main hydrogen release temperature is reduced from 310°C to 270°C, while hydrogen is first reversibly released at temperatures as low as 150°C with a total hydrogen capacity of 6 wt.%.